brief blogs

Today I want to talk about transcendence. You heard me. It is what separates Sandra Brown and me, Stephen King and you, Jon Stewart and the rest of the world from each other: the brain each of us humans is blessed with.

Brains are unique. Each human attached to each brain has a voice, a writer's voice. It's the way you express yourself, the frame in which ideas are presented, the word choices made to transfer images from your mind into a reader's mind.

To create those images, the choices you make are critical. For example, a character walks. Nope, actually he trudges. Or hurries. Hops then skips. Slogs and slows. Hustles and then leaps in excitement. Whirls and twirls. If she's a soldier, double-timing is faster than marching. Thieves tip-toe or sidle their way into a room. Drunks crawl to the toilet. Olympic runners can gallop around the track. They can also zip or zigzag, drive their legs into the ground, hurdle over hurdles and aim for the finish line.

Yes, it's all about emotional content. Change one word and zap… imagery jumps into the readers mind.

That's what separates a writer from a non-writer. Writers pay attention to the power inherent in every word. Writers know which words are more powerful than others. And writers love to wield that power.

For more ideas, please check out Kathy Steinemann at kathysteinemann.com. She is my go-to source for advice about synonyms and overall word usage. Her insights are spot on, and she includes examples to illustrate every point.